After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
NihontoWatchNihontoWatchThis is a Tokubetsu Hozon Token designated katana by Chikashige, the founder of the Shitahara smiths who were active in Musashi Province during the Muromachi period. It features a slightly long blade with saki-zori and an extended kissaki, typical of the late Muromachi period. The hamon is a neat suguha mixed with muneyaki, and the jigane is a clear itame-hada with flowing grain, showing the nascent mokume-hada and uzumaki-hada that would become characteristic of later Shitahara smiths. The accompanying koshirae, featuring Jingo fittings with a distinctive dragon design in silver nunome-zogan on a black ishime-ji saya, is also designated Hozon Tosogu by the NBTHK.
NihontoWatchOffered by Iida Koendo
Musashi · around 1570-1573
Tōken Taikan top 49%
1 piece on the market now
The Muromachi period (1392 to 1573)
After the Ōnin War broke the Ashikaga order, a century of Sengoku warfare armed nearly every province in Japan. The era rewards a discriminating eye: routine work exists in quantity, and beside it stand custom blades of the first rank.
A Hozon-certified blade judged to show notably superior workmanship and a better state of preservation. The bar is higher: re-tempered blades and most unsigned Muromachi/Edo works are excluded.
The NBTHK (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords) is a public-interest incorporated foundation founded in 1948 and supervised by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkachō); it is based at the Japanese Sword Museum in Tokyo. Its expert panels physically examine each submitted work (shinsa) and issue a certificate (kanteishō) ranking it by artistic and historical merit. NBTHK papers are the most widely recognized standard of authentication for Japanese swords and fittings.
NBTHK official siteCustomer-initiated returns accepted within two days of arrival; return shipping paid by customer and fees non-refundable. Returns/refunds unavailable for overseas deliveries.
¥2,200,000